Ok, maybe this is a dumb question, but I'm kinda new to martial arts (only like a year). My question is this: is your school considered a mixed martial arts school if all types of martial arts are taught? My school says on the sign that it teaches karate, but my instructor doesn't believe that any one style is totally well-rounded (that's his opinion. I have very limited exposure to multiple other styles, so I don't have my own opinion yet), so he incorporates elements of capoeira, hapkido, taekwondo, aikido, etc. so we can be well-rounded fighters. So are we actually a mixed martials arts school?-PierrePressure

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"If life gives you lemons, you blow those lemons to bits with your laser cannon!" - Brak

I was going to use "PP" but that didn't quite sound correct. What you have stated is an honest question, but I am not sure it is 100% accurate to describe your school this way as normally what is meant by MMA (though it could legitimately mean this).

Generally, from what I would consider MMA there is a preponderance of three styles of MAs that are mixed to utilize the ranges that they cover: Ground fighting coming from BBJ; Muay Thai for clinch and kicks; and Boxing for punching. These are mixed so that there is a cohesive strategy to utilize certain techniques in certain ranges so it is a very organic art, compared to adding this to that from disparate MAs and hoping you are accomplishing the same thing.

What MMAs generally tries to go for is to use resistive sporting styles that have proven training records for accomplishing certain goals and producing a training paradigm that uses these training methods to educate the student. So no kata, lots of bag/pad work and partner training is a must. While, one can mix different MAs...this is not the same, in my opinion, as mixed martial arts.

In any case, I consider myself mostly a karate guy, though I study BJJ to fill gaps in my game and knowledge.

I believe that MMA is a "style", in the sense that the standing fight, clinch and ground, are done at the same time. In other words, is really isn't "cross-training" as many people assume.

The emphasis is on making what you do work. It has to because you practice against people who are resisting you. This doesn't always mean sparring and it doesn't also mean brutalality. What it DOES mean is, your blows have to land, your clinch has to control, your takedowns actually take your partners down and your submissions make them submit (tap out).

What has been found to work are boxing, muay Thai, wrestling, judo, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Almost any truly practicable technique can work within MMA as well, providing that one can MAKE it work and do so against resistance. That's ultimately the only thing that matters.

The idea of combining different sysyems is nothing new. I remember when I was much younger, a school in my home town advertised that they taught nine arts as one. These arts inluded karate, kung fu, aikido, tai chi, jujitsu, hapkido escrima, judo and taekwondo. The reality was that the program was taekwondo + 2-3 cool moves from each of the above listed.